Keep Moving (19 page)
Authors: Dick Van Dyke
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
Here we are, at the conclusion of this book. For those who didn’t close it a page earlier—and even for those who did—thank you for purchasing this book and spending time with me. I hope you enjoyed it and go on your way with a smile, a spring in your step, and some positive thoughts about aging. Remember, if nothing else,
keep moving
—and help other people do the same. We’re all in this together.
To that point, I want to thank all the people who helped make the stories and events I wrote about possible, starting with my parents (good genes cannot be underestimated); my extended family of grandparents, aunts, and uncles; my brother, Jerry, who provided some very funny lines; my immediate family of my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren; and my friends and colleagues with whom I’ve worked over the years, as I frequently think about the projects we worked on together and treasure the memories.
As I said in my 2012 memoir, I have lived a lucky life in and out of show business, lucky in so many ways, not the least of which is making it to eighty-nine years old
in good health and with a sound mind, my sense of humor still intact, and someone special I wake up in the morning and look forward to spending the day with. This book would not have been possible without my wife, Arlene. Throughout the writing process she recalled stories, provided details, double-checked dates, rounded up photos, worked on corrections, and kept the writers writing. At each work session she also made sure we had plenty of hot coffee and fresh laughter.
Likewise, this book would not exist without Jeff Kolodny, my agent at Paradigm, and Dan Strone, my Literary Agent at Trident Media Group, who believed in and then convinced me that I had something to say on the subject of aging. At the outset I feared this would be a very short book, inasmuch as I thought I only had two words to say on the subject—“Keep moving”—a pretty short book if you ask me. Fortunately I was wrong and Jeff and Dan were right. So thank you to both of them. Also, as I sit here at my dining room table, I am applauding Dan’s assistants Jackie Triggs and Chelsea Grogan, who obtained the permissions that made it possible for us to use the photos in this book, and I extend a note—no, make that enough notes for an entire song—of appreciation to Amanda Murray, Editorial Director, and Georgina Levitt, Publishing Director, at Weinstein Books, and their team, including Patricia Mulcahy, Christine Marra, and Chris Roslan. And, of course, my thanks to Harvey Weinstein and The Weinstein Company family. I turned a manuscript over to them, and they turned it into a book.
As a lifelong fan of magic tricks, I think that’s a pretty good one.
And speaking of magic, I want to thank Todd Gold, my cowriter on this, our second book together, who spent the first six months of the year showing up at my house in the afternoon for a three o’clock cup of coffee. As we sat at the dining room table where I am now, he would laughingly assure me that our wide-ranging conversations would result in a book—and not just any old book, but one that people would enjoy reading. I had my doubts. My brother even stared him down one day and flat-out said, “What are you going to say? Everything about the subject has already been written.” Todd was not phased. “Let’s keep moving,” he said. “Let’s see what happens.” Lo and behold, this happened.
And now I’m going to see if my wife wants to go out to dinner.
Oh, one last reminder: never go down the stairs sideways.
acceptance,
82
Adult Songs for Children
(Estelle Reiner),
204
After Six Award,
75
ageism,
63–64
aging
acting and feeling one’s own age,
xiii
,
2
,
144
dementia, prevention of,
46
dessert,
51–52
disappearing ass,
24
disinterest in what other people think,
23
good habits for,
43–44
hobbies and passions, importance of,
42
how one feels inside,
24
inner child,
39–41
as new normal,
64
playtime, importance of,
42
pro-aging tips,
66
sense of normal, changes in,
36–37
shoulder taps from Father Time,
11–12
TV commercials,
17
white hair,
18
See also
old age
Alaska, cruise to
Arlene’s reaction to being at sea,
57–58
brochures,
54
cruise ship, boredom of,
56–57
dolphins,
60
food,
57
private tour of Parliament Building, Victoria, Canada,
60
purpose of,
54
in Skagway, Alaska,
59–60
toilet on train,
55–56
train ride to Vancouver, Canada,
55–56
whale watching,
58
Albinoni, Tomaso,
134
Andrews, Julie
Life Achievement Award,
111
,
207
in San Francisco parade,
180
work, joy in,
209
animation software,
136
answers to life’s important questions,
145
apartheid,
174
Armstrong, Neil,
172
Asimov, Isaac,
86
Asner, Ed,
25
atomic bombing of Japanese cities,
165
attitude, good,
97
audience, role of,
208
Baby Boomers
changing rules of aging,
66
curiosity about dealing with old age,
5
increasing number of seniors,
xiii
Baldwin, Alec,
207
“The Bare Necessities,” DVD’s lyrics for,
28
Beatles,
170
Benadryl, usefulness of,
149
Benny, Jack,
163
Benny Goodman Jazz Orchestra,
161
Betty Ford Center,
182
Beverly Hills, California,
19
,
63
,
177
,
181
,
193
birthdays,
4–5
Black, Shirley Temple,
209
Blake, Eubie,
44
Blanchett, Cate,
111
blazer from
Mary Poppins,
auction of,
73
blood pressure,
200
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich,
81
books,
85–86
bootlegging,
159
Bradbury, Ray,
86
brain, exercising,
46
brain, main job of,
151
Brennan, Eileen,
195
British Virgin Islands,
92
Britton, Barbara,
194
Brokaw, Tom,
65
Brownfield, Paul,
72
Buffet, Warren,
40
Burnett, Carol,
50–51
Burroughs, Edgar Rice,
85
Bye Bye Birdie
(stage musical),
31
,
43
,
168
,
195
Caesar salad dressing,
19
Cagney, Jimmy,
200
Capone, Al,
159
cardigan, Dick Van Dyke signature,
73–74
CG animation,
136
children’s hospital, singing at,
84–85
Chimney Sweep Award,
76
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
(movie),
x
,
12
Chulay, John,
169
Cialis, limerick about,
87
cigarettes,
190
Citizen Kane
(movie),
170
Civil Rights Movement,
171
Clinton, Bill,
182–183
Clooney, George,
208
Coach
(TV show),
21
Cobb, Lee J.,
166
collecting things,
74
A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy
(Simon),
102
confidence,
13
Congregation Beth Ohr,
69–70
connecting with other people,
48
,
118
Conrad, William,
6
Coolidge, Calvin,
158
Copner, Earl,
190–191
Cousins, Norman,
98
Cranston, Bryan,
208
Crawfordsville, Indiana,
125
Crosby, Bing,
47
Crosby, Gary,
47
dancing, role of in preventing dementia,
46
Dancing with the Stars
(TV show),
31
Danville, Illinois,
7
,
22
,
23
,
67
,
158
,
179
Davis, Sammy Jr.,
68
Day-Lewis, Daniel,
208
death, after,
98
death, of friends,
26
death camps for Jews,
165
Death of a Salesman
(Miller),
166
death of loved ones,
103
Debbie (favorite grocery checker),
14
,
44
Defore, Don,
173
dementia, prevention of,
46
dessert, importance of,
50
Diagnosis Murder
(TV show),
6
,
16
,
136
,
174
The Dick Van Dyke Show
(TV show)
continual airing of,
198
effect of on DVD’s life,
159
first two seasons of,
168–170
as inspiration to writers,
198
Rob Petrie, childlike qualities of,
40
diet,
43
doubt,
81–82
Duck Soup
(movie),
161
Dunaway, Faye,
61
dying,
215
eagerness to learn,
82
earth, protecting and preserving,
188–189
Easy Street,
145
Ed Sullivan Show
(TV show),
170
Einstein, Albert,
110
Eisenhower, Dwight D.,
168
El Capitan Theatre,
111
Ellington, Duke,
67
Emerson, Ralph Waldo,
50
Emory, Hamlin,
150–155
Empire State Building,
158
Erickson, Phil,
167
evolution, teaching the theory of,
158
family and friends, importance of,
79–80
Farnsworth, Philo,
159
Fellowship of Christian and Jews,
181
females, average life expectancy of,
xii
Fitzgerald, Ella,
68
Fitzgerald, F. Scott,
159
flashlight, tiny,
144
Floyd, Pretty Boy,
161
Fonda, Jane,
66
Ford, Betty,
181–182
Ford, Gerald,
181
forefathers, continuing the ways of,
188
Fox, Michael J.,
19
Frankieburger, Nancy,
79
friendliness,
188
friends dying,
26
games,
50
Garfield Grade School,
190
The Garry Moore Show
(TV show),
51
Geezer TV,
71
Gelbart, Larry,
16
genetics, old age and,
154
Gershwin, George,
67
Getz, Stan,
68
Gilligan’s Island
(TV show),
210
Ginsberg, Ruth Bader,
66
giving,
209
Golden Gate Park,
181
good things, sharing,
183
Gossett, Lou Jr.,
25
Gould, Glenn,
68
Gray Rights Movement,
64–65
The Great Gatsby
(Fitzgerald),
159
Gunty, Morty,
194
habits, good for aging,
43–44
Halax, Stacy,
112
Haley, Bill,
167
Hamilton, George,
26
“Happy Days Are Here Again” (song),
160
A Hard Day’s Night
(movie),
170
Harper, Valerie,
112
hate,
83
Head of the Family
(TV pilot),
194
health foods,
144
hearing, diminishing,
144
Heaton, Patricia,
22
helping,
83
Herman, Woody,
67
Hiroshima, Japan,
165
hobbies and passions, importance of,
12
,
42
,
205
Hohokam Indians,
77–78
homeless people, Depression era,
184
honesty,
209
Hopkins, Anthony,
61
Horne, Lena,
68
Hoss, Al,
162
Hulot, Monsieur,
195
humility,
82
humming,
43
hypocrisy,
69
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis,
152
hypothalamus,
152
ice cream sundaes,
51–52
illness, key to recovery from,
36
Inherit the Wind
(movie),
158
insects, diminishing numbers of,
100
insecurity,
124–125
isolation,
48
J. Press,
75
Jake and the Fatman
(TV show),
6
,
174
jazz,
188
Jazz Cruise,
60
The Jazz Singer
(movie),
160
Jefferson, Thomas,
xiii
Jessica (DVD’s granddaughter),
76
Johnson, Lyndon B.,
180–181
Jolson, Al,
160
Jones, Shirley,
25
Kareem, Melanie,
1
Keaton, Buster,
210
Kenton, Stan,
68
Kierkegaard, Søren,
81
King, Martin Luther Jr.
character of,
174
as leader of protest march in Selma Alabama,
171
at Los Angeles rally,
82
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table,
85–86
knees, old age and,
143
